AG Stephane Wrembel

8/9/2019 AG Stephane Wrembel

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46 AcousticGuitar.com ACOUSTIC GUITAR December 2013
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December 2013 ACOUSTIC GUITAR AcousticGuitar.com 47

Stphane Wrembel creates a newinstrumental blend from Django-style

swing, modern jazz, rock, andworld music. By Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

InWoody Allens Midnight in

Par is , the frustrated writer

played by Owen Wilson is con-

tinually transported from the

present day back to 1920s Paris, where he

encounters the likes of Pablo Picasso, Ernest

Hemingway, Salvador Dal, and Gertrude

Stein. To complete the atmosphere of that sto-

ried era, Allen needed just the right musicand for that he turned to the French guitarist

Stphane Wrembel, whose composition Big

Brother Allen had featured a few years ear-

lier in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The song that

Wrembel composed forMidnight in Paris, Bis-

tro Fada, became the movies theme, and

Wrembel wound up performing it at the 2012

Academy Awards show. Ever since, Bistro

Fada, a lilting minor-key waltz with an infec-

tious melody (see transcription on page 53),

has spread rapidly among guitaristsespe-

cially fans of Django Reinhardt.

Because Wrembel grew up near Samois-

sur-Seine (where Reinhardt settled at the end

of his life), plays the style of Selmer Maccaferri

guitar associated with Reinhardt, and is fluent

in the swinging rhythms and quicksilver lead

lines of Reinhardts music, many fans and crit-

ics have pegged Wrembel as a disciple of the

pioneering jazz guitarist. But Wrembels music

ranges much more widely than that, as is clear

from his recent recording Origins (Water Is

Life),which draws on rock, Middle Eastern,

Indian, and classical music as well as swing

and jazz. And though he plays an acoustic gui-

tar (a modern version of the Selmer, built by

Bob Holo), Wrembel gets into some loud andintense shreddingespecially onstage. His

music is closer in some ways to the adventur-

ous spirit of John McLaughlin or (in quieter

moments) Ralph Towner than to the more

traditional-minded Django-philes playing in

Hot Clubs worldwide.

Wrembel originally came to the United

States to attend the Berklee College of Music.

He now lives in New York City and tours

widely with his band: Roy Williams on guitar,

Dave Speranza on upright bass, and Nick

Anderson on drums. To learn more about

Wrembels music, I met with him in upstate

New York at the Nelson Odeon, a century-old

grange hall turned into an intimate concert

venue. Backstage before the show, Wrembel

talked about his philosophy of composing and

improvising, and he shared some songs and

exercises on his Holo guitar.

How aware of Djangos music were you, growing

up so close to Samois?This music is present everywhere in France,

but I never really paid attention to it until I

needed technical stuff from itI am not a

Gypsy, so I dont need to express that angle in

me. Actually, what is very interesting is

Fontainebleau, where Im from, is the birth-

place of impressionism. So there is a very

strong impressionist vibe, and when I started

to learn piano at age four, my teacher was an

impressionist. She was a specialist in all the

moderns, like Debussy, and she was an old

lady back then, so she was good friends with

Gabriel Faur and Ravel and all these guys.

I grew up in the 80s, so when I was 15 and

started to play guitar, I was playing all the 70s

and 80s rock. When I was about 19 or 20, I

went for the first time to the Django festival

[in Samois].

So were you exposed to that style of music live

as opposed to from recordings?

I bought a CD when I started at the American

School of Modern Music [in Paris]. I wanted

to learn the jazz technique, because I was

pretty good at rock at this point and I wanted

to extend my knowledge. The only name I

knew was Django Reinhardt, so I bought myfirst Django CD. This was my first encounter

with Django as a musician, really, so I paid

attention in a completely different way. This

is when I discovered his whole universe of

technique.

I spent years with the Gypsies learning

these techniques, and then I went to Berklee,

where I learned from great players on bou-

zouki and oud, plus more modern jazz tech-

niques of improvisation. And after that it was

country and bluegrass and all that stuff. When

I arrived in New York, I started to compose

and put all my techniques together.
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3/11


Was studying Djangos style a sharp turn from

what youd done before on guitar?

No. The first and most important stone in my

playing is rockPink Floyd, Led Zeppelin

and everything else is an extension of that. So

learning a different technique is just a tech-

nique. I went to play a lot with the Gypsies,

and I took lessons with some of the Gypsy

guys in Paris to learn the proper right-hand

technique, which is very powerful. And then I

moved on to other things.

So you took lessons in addition to hanging out

and playing?

Quite a few lessons, with Serge Krief, Angelo

Debarre, these guys. And a lot of playing and

jamming in the camps in Samois, so I learned

in the traditional environment. Part of it was

natural learning and part of it was formal

training. And a big part of it was transcrip-

tion, because I figured out things about

Django by myself, too, that were not handedto me by anyone.

When did you first get a Maccaferri-style guitar?

That was actually when I first met the Gypsies.

What I discovered about these guitars is they

are very versatile instruments. They are a little

bit less rich in terms of bass than the Martins,

but they have way more potential for a soloist.

You can play rock, you can play classical, you

can play Django, you can play whatever

you want. They are in the center of the guitar

world. Very interesting instruments.

This guitar is really good for soloingit

really cuts through. The neck is a little bit

smaller. Its closer almost to an electric guitar

in some ways. There is a rock feel to it that

you dont have in other acoustic instruments.

And it reacts very well to amplification, so

when I use it live, I tend to use it more on the

electric side than on the acoustic side. I use

my acoustic technique for the control of the

instrument, but I use more of the electric side

for the sound. That gives me a hybrid unique

sound that Im very happy with.

In your rhythm playing, are there certain types

of chord voicings you use to get that distinctive

punchy sound?

It depends. For example, I have a song called

Peaceful Mind [Example 1]. This is like big

open chords. I have also [Example 2,slow

arpeggios from Tsunami] or [Example 3,a

syncopated fingerstyle pattern from

Momentum], that kind of groove. When its

a little bit more swing, the chords are more

like [Example 4]. So it depends on the compo-

sition. I use different chords, but they are all

very basic. I never use complicated harmonies,

complicated chord progressions. Everything is

very simple for the comping.

In that swing style youre using a lot of percus-

sive snaplike a snare drum.

For this particular angle of comping, yeah. Its

just the usual stuff that is done in swing: you

push and you hit [for a slowed-down demon-

stration, see video on AcousticGuitar.com]. Itslike everything in music: its very easy to

understand, but its very hard to do. Its very

easy to understand that you have to push and

hit, and the balance creates that train effect.

But getting the feel takes a little time.

Could you show, as an example, the rhythm pat-

tern in your song The Edge?

The chords are very easy. Its G, Cm, D7, and

G. That G [with E and A on top] is a very

impressionist chord, the upper part of it. And

the bridge is a regular B7 to E7 to A7 to D7.

Thats the chord progression [Example 5].

You are playing mostly chords without open

strings to get that percussive sound, right?

Yeah, because you mute with the left hand.

The right hand doesnt touch the strings. To

get that percussion sound, you avoid the open

strings, absolutely.

Speaking of rhythm, why did you post that big

library of play-along rhythm tracks on your

website?

Because when I first started to play the Django

style, there was no one to play with. I wish

this had been available to me when I was

starting to train on these songs, so thats the

reason I decided to put them online. It doesnt

replace the experience of jamming with peo-

ple, but its a great tool.

These are good learning songs. What we

call a standard is really a song for learning a

craft. After that, once you have the techniques,

you move on and compose and do your own

thing. These songs are also good if you meet

people you dont know and you want to jam;

that gives you a repertoire for at least having

a musical conversation.

Bistro Fada has a very different rhythmic feel

than the other songs you played earlier. When

you were writing that song, did you start with

the chords or the melody?

Oh, I did the chords first [Example 6, page

51]. This is a completely traditional type ofprogression. This is like composing on a blues.

There are more chords, its a bit longer, but

actually its like an E-minor blues. I just

recorded the chords and called Dave

[Speranza], my bass player, and I said, Come

over because you need to record this ASAP.

So he took the train to my house. It took him

a couple of hours, and by then I had com-

posed and recorded the melody, everything.

So this progression is standard for musette?

Yeah, for that Parisian style. Thats what they

wanted: they wanted something to capture

the soul of Paris. What am I going to do? I

take something very standard and compose

over it.

How would you describe that style to the

uninitiated?

Musette was born in the early 20th century in

Paris. You know, its like in New Orleans you

had people from all over the world starting to

play music together, and it gave birth to jazz?

The same thing happened at the same time in

Stphane Wrembel

ou dont learn to improise better

by playing scales or by playing

arpeggios or anything. ou get better

at improisation by improising more.


4/11

AcousticGuitar.com 49December 2013 ACOUSTIC GUITAR

B

000

220

Em

Ex. 1

12

2

1

Fmaj7

000

220

Em

000

220

000

220

02

331

F (11)

00

220

Em

00

220

B

57

97

97

Dsus2

Ex. 2

57

7

D5

68

108

108

Bsus2

68

8

B5

35

75

75

Gsus2

35

5

G5

57

87

87

A5(9)

57

7

A5

B

5

6

77

5

6

77

5

6

77

5

6

77

3

5

55

3

5

55

Dm CEx. 3

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

with fingers

54

5

54

5

Am6Ex. 4

xx

xx

x x

54

5

54

5

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xx

x x

54

5

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x x

878

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F7 E7

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B

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2

2

1

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3

554

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3

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Ex. 5A

554

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3

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3

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3

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5

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5

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x

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5

545

5

545

D9

xxxx

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(play A one more time)

5

545

5

545

xxxx

xxxx


5/11


Paris. You had the immigrants from central

France, from Auvergne, because back then,

going from central France to Paris was really

emigrating. It was a time when they still had

their own language, their own dance, their

own everything. They were playing the

musette, which is a little bagpipe, and they

were playing the traditional music called the

musette. And then, at the same time, Italy was

doing very bad, and you had the Italian immi-

grants coming to Paris with the new instru-

ment called the accordion. They started

playing these musette songs on the accordion.

In the middle of that you had the Gypsies, who

were playing the banjo and the banjo guitar,

who started to join. And in no time that style

was born of playing the musette, that bagpipe

music, on the accordion, with the Gypsy stuff

on it, and they developed a completely new

language. Same thing with tango: it was born

at the same time in the same kind of spirit.

Lets talk about soloing. What do you practice

to develop the kind of fluidity you have moving

up and down the neck?

OK, there is a very big difference between

practicing and performing. These are two dif-

ferent worlds. I hear people say sometimes,

Oh, when I practice, I practice like I per-

form. I think this is a big mistake because its

a matter of chi. Chi is the energy. So you have

yin, which is the energy that you take in, and

you have yang, the energy that you push.

Pull, push, yin, yang. When you practice yin

you have a very calm state of mind, and you

practice a very technical area. No joy, no

angeryou dont do it with the positive

or the negative. You try to stay in the neutral,

the peaceful. Then you build up a certain

level of energy, and when you are in concert,

this energy is available to throw.

If I do a jam and I get all excited and it

feels good right before a show, I used to think,

were going to play a great show. Then youre

up onstage and you feel mediocre. Youre like,

what happened? Because you depleted your-

self of your chi, your creative energyits

gone. You arrive onstage and youre depleted.

Its like running a marathon before you run amarathon.

Im extremely conscious of that when I

practice. Im very quiet inside, its very quiet

outside, and its very technical. Its very sacred

in a way. Theres no personality in it. And

when we perform at night, all that energy that

has accumulated and all that preparation that

is done with the mind, like with the thinking

and the fingers, all that comes into place, and

then the information can go.

Is practicing slowly, with a lot of attention to

phrasing and tone, the secret to playing fast?

Building a Nouveau SelmerStphane Wrembels concert

guitars are built by Portland,

Oregon, luthier Bob Holo

(hologuitar.com) and are based

on a Selmer that Django

Reinhardt owned in 1938 (just

prior to the famous Selmer 503

that Reinhardt played until his

death). According to Holo,

Reinhardt recorded many of his

seminal works on the earlier

guitar, which can be seen in the

well-known JAttendrai video.

Holo was a fan of Wrembels

music for years before he met him

and had the opportunity to build

him a guitar. As the whereabouts

of that earlier guitar arent known,

says Holo, I based the design on

what is known of that earlier incar-

nation of Selmer, and tuned the

weight, strength, and top from

measurements of several other

Selmers of the era that I was able

to study.

Wrembels guitar has a

Romanian red spruce top, black

walnut back and sides, and the

small oval petite bouche sound-

hole (in contrast to the D-shaped

grande bouche soundhole on

other models).

Holo made a few design modi-

fications based on conversations

with Wrembel, including a

648-mm (25.5-inch) scale length

(Reinhardts earlier Selmer was

640 mm) and an extended finger-

board for additional range. The

648-mm scale, says Holo, is the

same as on a Gibson L5C and

lends a nice little bit of round-

ness and bite without becoming

strident.

Wrembel owns a matching set

of Holos guitars, built from the

same flitches of wood and tuned

identically, and his bandmate Roy

Williams plays the same model.

These are the only three guitars of

this design that Holo has built.

Stphane Wrembel


6/11


B

4

0

0

0022

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0022

Em

Ex. 6

3

0

0022

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0022

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0022

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3

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0022

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122

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9

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022

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2 3 2 0

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B

17

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2

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1

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B7/F

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B7/F

0

01

2

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E

4

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2

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25

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32

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B

4

U

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1 2 3 4

Ex. 7

* Hold each finger down on fret until just before finger moves to next note.

U

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U

1 2 3 4

U

U

U

U

1 2 3 4

U

U

U

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1 2 3 4

U

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U

U

1 2 3 4

U

U

U

U

1 2 3 4

U

U

U

U

1 2 3 4

(continue down)


7/11


I would like to show you an exercise that is

very good. This is how I practice. First I use a

timer. I usually like to do groups of five min-

utes. I start the timer, and until the timer

stops, Im just focused on my exercise. You

can fit way more information into five min-

utes if you dont have to worry about time.

When I wake up in the morning, the first

thing I do is I take my guitar and I do this exer-

cise. It is very easy [Example 7]. You just move

like thatone, two, three, fourone finger

after the other. I try to have [the notes] sound

clear, and move the fingers at the last second,

leaving the fingers on the frets. That helps with

the strength of the [fretting] hand, with the

coordination of the two hands, and with the

placement, and it gives you a good habit for

the legato.

Usually, what I tell my students is you do

the exercise oncethats it. This is how you

start your day. If you do this too much, you

can really hurt your hand, so you have to be

careful. Developing strength is good, but you

have to do it gradually.

What are the best ways to develop your abilities

as an improviser?

You dont learn to improvise better by playing

scales or by playing arpeggios or anything.

You get better at improvisation by improvising

more. Im lucky enough that I have between

five and seven shows a week, so I always

improvise at night. I dont need to improvise

during my practice. If you dont have a concert

or a jam with friends or anything, its a very

good thing to allow a certain time to just

jameven releasing the chi. Just play it off

and replenish it the next day.

But to learn to improvise, its not about

how much you know. For example, a lot of

classical players know so much more than any

jazz players in terms of harmony, positioning,

scales and arpeggios, counterpoint with four

voices moving, and stuff like that. They know

crazy stuff and read everything, but they cant

improvise on a chord. Why? Because they

didnt develop the state of mind. Improvising

is a state of mind. In order to improvise better

you need to improvise more. Thats it. You

have to start somewhere simple and just play

with it, and then you start playing in different

chord progressions. But its a lot about doingit for hours and hours and hours.

Do you see yourself ultimately more as a com-

poser or as a guitarist?

I dont see myself as a composer or guitarist.

This is just a vehicle. This is just what I do,

you know what I mean? The music is the tool

I use to express, but music is not a goal. I like

to say its like a hammer. I use it to hammer

my layers, you know, to try to go deeper into

my psyche. Music is a language that everyone

understands, so the content of it is different

for every human being. ag

What e laysAcoustic Guitars:Stphane Wrembel plays

contemporary versions of the Selmer Maccaferri

guitars played by Django Reinhardt. Wrembels

concert guitars are built by Bob Holo (see

Building a Nouveau Selmer, page 50). For

practice, Wrembel plays a Gitane DG-255, and

a Gitane DG-340 Stphane Wrembel model with

the frets removed (when the guitar was being

refretted, he tried it with no frets, loved it, and

asked to keep the instrument like that).

Amplification:French-made Ischell Inside Box

plus CPJ contact mic (ischell.com), which

Wrembel calls a miracle. He uses an L.R. Baggs

Para DI and AER Compact 60 acoustic amps

(sometimes two onstage and even a third as a

monitor). His pedals include a Boss TU-2 tuner,

an Electro-Harmonix octaver, and a Boss EQ that

he uses only as a volume pedal.

Accessories:Heavy Wegen picks. Savarez

Argentine 1610 MF strings with an .011 first

string.

Stphane Wrembel

Introducing theAged ToneTM

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Get the story here:bourgeoisguitars.com

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8/11


Stphane Wrembel wrote Bistro Fada for Woody Allens

Midnight in Paris. He composed and recorded the music in

just a few hours, based on a traditional musette chord pro-

gression in Em, in 3/4 time. This transcription is based ontheMidnight in Parissoundtrack (the same version appears

on Wrembels albumBistro Fada). An improviser at heart,

Wrembel plays the tune a bit differently each time. Note,

for instance, that his demonstration of the chords in

Example 6 (page 51) varies in a few spots from the chords

shown here. Bistro Fada follows a three-part form:

AABBACCA. The melody has a distinct Django-esque feel,

from the fleet-fingered runs up, down, and across the

neck, to the thick lateral vibrato that Wrembel often uses

on the last note of a phraseplus it has the unmistakablepunchy tone of a Selmer Maccaferristyle guitar. The tune

makes ample use of triplets, both fast (with eighth notes,

as in measure 13) and slow (with quarter notes, as in mea-

sures 7275). No matter what type of guitar you use,

Bistro Fada is a blast to playand a great single-note

workout as well. J.P.R.

istro ada

B

0

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2

00

2

Em

Gtr. 1

Intro

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B72 13 40x

Gtr. 2

Gtr. 1

A

5 75 4 5

Em120 00 0

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usic by Stphane Wrembel

2012STPHANEWREMBELMUSICPUBLISHINGASCAP


9/11
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10/11
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11/11

56 AcousticGuitar com ACOUSTIC GUITAR December 2013

B

99

8

7

9

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2 41 2 4

B7

5 75 4 5

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3 4 5 4 3 4

8 4 7 6

3

5 5 6 5 4 5

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105

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E7

3

4 5 47 6

46

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Em

4 4 4

3

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C7

4 3 4 6

4

B7

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45

Em

2

Stphane Wrembel

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AG Stephane Wrembel